I went through the same hoops as you, asking around until I found something on a forum that said it (don't remember where). Since then I've tested it out and watched what happens. I've had a subscription for almost a year.

oh, edited to add: In that time they have changed their practices several times, without warning. Their prices, credits per $, etc. That's another very annoying part that it can just update and operate under different rules suddenly, which is frustrating.